Journal Entry: Exploring Bach

Review of London Bach Society's 3rd BACHFEST, for the BACH CLUB page, in their journal BACH NOTES. Sept 2011
500 words

Exploring Bach


2012 is the year baroque virtuoso Rodolfo Richter sets out to complete one of his life ambitions: to record all of Bach's output written for the violin. The audience of the third Bach Club meeting were present for a preview of what is to come at the Foundling museum, where we gathered to listen to Sonata's No 1, 2 and 4 for violin and harpsichord.

Like myself, Richter is convinced that Bach should be for everyone, for the young and old; for those who have grown up with the tradition, and for those who have arrived at Bach from other pathways. I wanted to find why Bach fires Richter's ambition, and what his love of Bach can tell us about the ways in which we can experience the composer.

“What makes Bach's music so enjoyable for me is the fact that it is unbelievably rich at so many levels”, Richter comments. It's true; we admire Bach for his tight technique, his astute balance of melody and counterpoint. For performers the complex inner workings of the composition provide provide an endlessly rich source for interpretation. But, as Richter implores “he's never academic, because even when he's obsessed with the complexity and rigidity of his own technical challenges; he knows when to break free.” Indeed, each note is always present, but it is the art of choosing which colours, tones and shapes to accentuate; the way one might turn a diamond to let it glimmer in the light.

Richter's performance encapsulated the equilibrium of this ordered, yet entirely expressive art; especially in the allegro movement of the first sonata. The music was exquisite. His nimble bow soared over the strings, spinning silken melody lines, effortlessly interlocking with the accompanying harpsichord counterpoint. The relationship between the two was precise, alive; instinctual.

When I asked him why it is important to help young people engage with Bach today, Richter replied that it is important to help them open up a new path of discovery. A discovery of both Bach's music, and a self-discovery. It is specifically the emotional and technical richness of Bach's music that enables such a deep exploration. As Richter says, “These different levels contain so many other layers, that one feels no one can't get to the bottom of it all in a lifetime.”

This sense of exploration and growth created a depth throughout Richter's performance. The emotional shading was that of one who has taken a journey with Bach, returning to the same music to nourish the different stages of his life; finding new meanings there and refining his interpretation. Each movement achieved a subtle profundity through its nuanced colouring. The opening siciliano largo of the more well-known Sonata no. 4 was especially poignant with its slow, careful dignity and tender expression; giving melodic lines their full expressive potential whilst implying a hint of reservation; never rushing ahead into their familiarity.

In the concert I was struck by the memory of a phrase a play-write friend recently expressed to me: “There's one story; you get that for free, but look again, and there's another, and if you give the time then you get something far bigger than the price you paid for admission.” Ultimately by offering tickets at reduced prices, the 18-30 Bach club offers young people a way of coming to know Bach, yet what they take away with them is their own decision.

It was wonderful to see the evening was brought to a close with wine, and an informal dispersal of people around the Foundling Museum, talking to one another about their experiences with Bach. A group of students set themselves up round the harpsichord to play and talk about certain passages and show off their keyboard skills. One of my friends listened with intrigue to one lady's description of a previous musical life she had led in Berlin. Others were admiring the extravagant architecture and curiously wandering to have a look at the paintings. For everyone involved, the evening acted as as a mirror for their own lives; different chords, melodies and interactions resonating in different ways for different people.